Say You'll Haunt Me
by Malin Halibell
Summary: Bella and her mother move to Chicago and into the infamous 'Cursed Cullen House'. When she meets a mysterious green eyed man, Bella soon finds the house to be haunted by both innocent and not so innocent ghosts. Will she be able to set them free, or join them for eternity? ExB, language, lemons.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a little something I've been working on for a couple weeks. I already have six chapters of this pre-written, so I figured fuck it, I'm gonna post the first chapter. I have no self-control whatsoever.**

**Anyway, this is inspired by the show 'American Horror Story'. If you watch it, I love you, can we be new best friends? If you don't watch it, go do so now and realize how empty your life has been until now. Seriously though, if you don't watch it, this story will still make sense on its own.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Twilight! (Or American Horror Story, just to be safe).**

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**BPOV**

This sucked.

Why the hell did I have to move all the way across the country with my mother just because she and dad couldn't work their shit out?

I don't resent her from getting away from dad, but I do resent her dragging me along. I was almost eighteen, I could have just stayed with dad for a few more months until my birthday and I would have moved out anyway.

She insisted on me coming with her, not wanting to leave me with his cheating ass. My mother, Renee, had caught my dad, Charlie, cheating on her.

The catch?

He was cheating on her… _with a man_.

Yeah. We Swans don't do anything half-ass.

Charlie's porn 'stache and his obsession with throw pillows make sense now.

Renee was outraged and embarrassed all to hell, demanding a divorce right on the spot, worried more about what the old bitches at the country club would think more than trying to work out a twenty-two year marriage.

I liked Charlie, a lot more than I liked Renee. So when she flat out told me to pack my things because I was going with her, to say I was pissed off would be an understatement.

So now, we were on our way from Seattle to Chicago. My Aunt Charlotte -Renee's younger sister- lived there, so she thought it was the best place to go for a while.

I didn't mind the part about Aunt Charlotte. I love her like she was my best friend. Charlotte was only thirty-four and I swear to God she was what I'll be like in fifteen or twenty years. It was like looking into the future.

At least there was one good thing about this move.

"Oh, wipe that horrible frown off your face, Isabella." Renee chides me.

I rolled my eyes, making sure she couldn't see. I hated it when she called me Isabella. It made me feel like I was five again and I had just got caught with my hand in the cookie jar.

"I can't wipe the frown off my face when I have nothing to replace it with." I sighed to her.

"Did you honestly expect me to continue living in that house, with that man after what he did?" She asks, like I was asking her to kill basket full of kittens.

"No, but I did expect you to _not _drag me along against my will." I retorted.

"You are my daughter. I wasn't about to leave you with that man." Renee shuddered.

Oh yeah, that's another thing. She hasn't said his name since it happened, which was four days ago.

"What man? _My father_? So, he's gay. That doesn't automatically erase the last seventeen years of my life with him!" I shout, fed up with her.

"I'm not going to continue to have this conversation with you. What's done is done. Get over yourself, Isabella." She huffed, turning to look out the car window.

Get over _myself_? Ha! I wasn't the one acting like a stuck up bitch and treating my husband like he was Voldemort, with all this 'he-who-shall-not-be-named' bullshit.

Was it really wrong for me to not want to be ripped away from all my friends, my school, my boyfriend? I only had _months _of that left. Four more months and I would have been free. Now, I have to start all over for those months and I don't even know where the hell to begin.

To keep from reaching over and tearing chunks of Renee's fake blonde hair out, I cross my arms and dig my nails into my upper arms, glaring holes into the back of the drivers head.

We sat in silence for the next twenty minutes or so as we were driven to the new house. I refused to call it my home.

As we pulled up, I sighed, knowing I shouldn't have been surprised.

The house was way more than we needed for just the two of us. It was closer to a mansion, actually.

A huge, three story red brick Victorian sat at the end of the long, winding driveway. I knew a house like this had to have at least six bedrooms. It was just me and Renee. What the fuck would we do with all this space?

"Mom, why did you get a house this big?" I asked her.

"What? Did you think I was going to let us live in some hovel?" Renee asked, sounding genuinely offended.

"No… I was just thinking something a bit smaller. Maybe only two floors… something that didn't resemble Hogwarts?" I said, climbing out of the car.

Renee glared at me over the car, pissed off by my general attitude, plus the fact that she hated when I would make references she didn't understand. She thought it made her look stupid. And God fucking forbid my mother look stupid.

_She is stupid… Not knowing what Hogwarts is…_

Grabbing my bag, I stomped up the pathway and the stairs to the front door.

"Hello there!" An overly cheery voice scared me.

I flinched away and let out a startled squeak.

A red-headed woman in her mid-forties, wearing a suit had opened the door.

"Hello Tanya!" Renee calls from behind me as she came up the stairs. "Isabella, this is the realtor that sold me this house, Tanya Denali. Tanya, this is my daughter, Isabella." Renee introduced.

I give a half wave to Tanya before walking past her into the house. I could care less about some fake, cheery realtor who was just kissing Renee's ass to get her commission.

Stepping into the entryway of the house, I sighed, taking in the dark wood floors, walls with what looked like hand carved wooden trim around the doorways and windows. There was a large winding staircase off to the left and as I stood beside it and looked up, I could see all the way up the three floors to a sky window.

"See, it's amazing." Renee says as she passes me with Tanya trailing behind her.

"Can I just go pick out my room?" I ask.

"Go do whatever you want." She waved me off.

_Yes, mother dearest._

Taking the steps two at a time, I went all the way up to the third floor, wanting to find a room as far away from Renee as possible.

The hallway off the stairs was long and narrow, random artwork hanging on the walls with a door breaking it up here and there. I opened each door, peaking inside. The first door was just a closet, so I moved onto the second. It was a small bedroom, but not big enough for me. The third door was a large bathroom, complete with marble flooring and one of those old claw-foot tubs.

Moving on to the last door, I twisted open the brass doorknob and took a look inside.

_This is going to be my room. _

It was twice the size of my room back home.

Done in hardwood floors like the rest of the house, the room had an open feeling, dark red walls surrounding me as I stepped into it.

It was pretty much empty of furniture, except for a window seat under the expansive picture window. It looked like it was done in a cherry wood, differencing itself from the dark brown mahogany of the floors. It had little cabinet like doors on it.

It had probably been used for storing small things; books, pictures, toys… stuff like that.

Slowly walking over, I kneeled down in front of the window seat, reaching out for the little silver handle on one of the cabinets.

A creak echoed throughout the room, like someone had stepped on a floorboard and I snapped my head around to see who was there.

No one.

I frowned before turning back to the window seat.

"Isabella! Come down here for a moment!" Renee yelled.

I jumped again and growled. This was stupid. It's an old house, there's going to be a few creaks here and there. Nothing to be afraid of.

So I abandoned my task and headed out of the room, going down the staircase as slow as I could.

I liked to piss Renee off once and a while.

She and the realtor were standing in the entryway, going on about how nice a flowerbed would look out front.

"What mom?" I ask.

"The moving truck is here. Have you picked out a room, yet? They need to know where to put your things." She said.

"I want the room on the third floor, at the end of the hallway." I told her.

_The movers are going to hate my ass… having to carry all those boxes up two flights of stairs. _

Renee looked me up and down for a second before making a sound of agreement.

I noticed Tanya looking at me strangely and I had to resist asking what her problem was.

The rest of the day was spent directing the movers. Renee had several fits when they put things in the wrong room. Lord forbid she'd have to pick up a box and move it from the living room to the kitchen.

All day, I felt this odd sensation in my spine. Like someone was watching me… but whenever I'd turn around to see if Renee or one of the movers were around, there wouldn't be anyone.

I'd hear creaking as well, but I tried to brush it off as it being an old house, much like I did upstairs.

It was almost eight o'clock at night when everything was finally in the house and where Renee wanted it.

She allowed me to order pizza, only because she was in no mood to cook anything, and I took a couple slices and escaped to my new room with the excuse of unpacking.

I sat down on the floor and stuck my earphones in, turning up my Ipod loudly and pulled a box over to me. I only had about ten boxes, but Renee insisted I keep my huge canopy bed, my dressers and the big plushy chair. Plus, being Renee, she tried to bribe me into all of this by getting me a 55" flat screen. The movers had fun lugging that up the stairs.

Normally, I don't take bribes, but I wasn't about to pass up a TV like that. At least I could spend most of my nights away from Renee and still get HBO.

I continued unpacking and eating my pizza, still getting that weird spine tingling feeling of someone close by.

_Maybe…_

The house is old. I heard Tanya going on to Renee about the house originally being built in 1895. It was a nice house, a lot of people have probably lived here… which means a lot of people have probably died here.

My eyes scanned the room carefully, looking for shapes in dark shadowy corners, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Laughing it off, I got up and started to make my bed.

_You don't believe in ghosts, Bella. That's just silly. _

A shrill ring startled me before I realized it was just my phone. Digging it out of my jacket pocket, I smiled when I read the name flashing on the screen.

"Hey Jake." I answer.

"Hi babe." He says in that deep voice of his. "How's Chicago?"

"I'd much rather be back in Forks with my dad and you. Renee's being her usual self, I had to go hide in my room." I said, flopping down on my newly made bed.

"Just a few more months, babe." He reminded me.

"I know, but it's kinda creepy here. I keep getting this feeling like I'm being watched." I said.

"Bella, you just moved into a strange, new - and if I know Renee - gigantic old house. Of course you're going to get some creepy feelings. They'll go away after a few days when you get used to everything." Jake says reasonably.

He's right of course, but it still feels weird.

"I just wanted to call and see how you were doing." He continued.

"I'm as great as could be expected. I was just about to go to bed, I'll give you a call tomorrow, okay?" I asked.

"Okay. Goodnight babe." Jake says.

"Goodnight Jake." I say back and hang up.

Letting out a huff of air, I got up and changed into the cotton sleep shorts and tank top - my usual sleep wear - and headed to the bathroom to do my nightly routine. Peeing, washing my hands and then my face, and brushing my teeth.

I leaned down to spit out the toothpaste into the sink and when I came back up, my eyes locked with a pair of green eyes staring at me in the mirror.

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**Well…? I know, it's not too much yet, but it was just the first chapter. There are many more things to come. Please don't be turned off by Jake being in this. Trust me, he won't be in here much.**

**I'd really love to know what you think, give me some ideas, theories, whatever. **

**As usual, you can find me on Facebook under Malin Halibell. **


	2. Chapter 2

**This is inspired by American Horror Story. If you watch it, let's be friends. Don't be afraid to message me and talk about it. I love talking about AHS.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Twilight, or American Horror Story.**

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**EPOV**

I watched the lovely girl run out of the bathroom, able to hear her heart hamming in her chest as she ran away from me.

"Stop scaring her." A feminine voice chastises me.

"I didn't mean to scare her." I mumble petulantly.

I really didn't mean it. There was just something about her… maybe it was because she was the prettiest girl I'd seen in a long time… maybe it was the way she rolled her dark brown eyes… or maybe it was the way she bit into her pink bottom lip when she was concentrating.

Maybe I shouldn't have followed her into the bathroom. It wasn't the most gentlemanly thing to do.

"Well you are. If you keep it up you're going to give the poor girl nightmares about what goes bump in the night." She says.

"Go away, Alice." I groan.

"Why did you stop her from going into the cabinet under the window seat?" Alice asks suddenly, ignoring my pleas.

"I didn't stop her. She turned around on her own when she heard the creaking floorboard." I say.

"Which you stepped on. I'm not stupid, Edward. You know which floorboards creak the loudest in this house… don't try to tell me that you accidentally stepped on the loudest one seconds before she opened it." She says, her eyebrow raised at me.

"Don't want her reading your diary, Eddie?" Emmett, Alice's older brother, snickers as he comes up the stairs.

"It's not my diary. It's a journal. There is a difference, Emmett." I grumble.

"Isabella Swan, I swear by Jesus himself this better be good." I heard another female voice, one that belongs to the older woman in the house echo up the grand staircase.

"I swear I saw it! There was a man looking right back at me! I swear!" The young girl tried to convince her mother.

"Poor girl is scared out of her mind! You should be ashamed of yourself Edward!" Alice hit me in the arm repeatedly.

For someone so little, it sure did hurt when she hit me.

Emmett had disappeared during our exchange, probably up in the attic, so after she was done hitting me, Alice and I quickly followed him.

**BPOV**

I dragged Renee into the bathroom and made her look into the mirror.

"Just look, they were right there! This guy was standing there!" I say almost hysterically.

Excuse me, but when you see a man standing behind and staring at you in your bathroom, you'd be a little upset about it, too.

"I don't see anything, Isabella. Look, it's been a long and hard day for both of us. You just need to get some sleep. Go to bed." She said, patting my cheek condescendingly and brushed past me.

"But… I know I saw…" I mumble.

I looked into the mirror, but saw nothing.

_Was I just imagining it? Maybe I do need some sleep. _

I walked back into my room and climbed into bed, snuggling down under the covers. I couldn't help but look around the room suspiciously, looking for the man with the bright green eyes.

There was nothing.

So I closed my eyes and eventually dozed off.

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"Isabella!" Renee yells through my door, knocking on it loudly.

I groaned and rolled over in bed, burying my face in a pillow.

"What?" I call to her, my voice muffled.

"Get up! It's nine o'clock already! We've got things to do today!" She yells through the door, then I hear footsteps fade away as she leaves me in peace.

_Nine o'clock… can't these things wait until the afternoon? What do we even have to do? _

I dragged my ass out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. It wasn't until I passed by the mirror that everything from last night came back to me.

Holy shit.

I froze like a deer in headlights. I was caught in the mirror, and I suddenly wasn't sure I wanted to be up on the third floor all by myself.

This is ridiculous. Even if there was a ghost, I refused to let it rule my life like this. This was my bathroom, damn it. That pervy fucking ghost shouldn't have been here in the first place.

I squared my shoulders, took in a deep breath and told myself this wasn't going to make me sound insane.

"Listen here, you little perv." I say, raising my voice a little. "I don't really care what you do in this house, but you stay out of my bathroom and my bedroom. The next time I catch you trying to sneak a peek, I'm gonna go all ghost hunters on your ass!"

Silence greeted my rant and I immediately felt like an idiot.

"Oh I like you." I hear behind me and my blood runs cold.

Turning on my heal so fast I almost slipped and fell on my ass, I came face to face with a blonde woman leaning against the closed door.

My quick once over told me that she was young, maybe only a couple years older than me, tall, blonde, blue eyed, unusually pale, but very beautiful.

She was also entirely different from green eyes I saw last night.

"You've got sass! I haven't seen that around this place since… well, since me." She continued on, as if nothing was wrong.

"Who are you?" I manage to gasp.

"You shouldn't call Edward a pervert. He wasn't trying to see anything like that, he's just curious about you." She ignored my question.

"Edward?" I ask. Was she talking about green eyes?

"Yep. And he feels really bad for scaring you. Now he won't stop sulking. Do you know how depressing it is to watch a ghost sulk? Such a fucking cliché." She mumbles.

"Who are you?" I repeat more strongly.

"I'm Rose." She drawls out, looking at me through blonde curls.

"You're a ghost." I say, more than ask.

"Aren't you a smart one." Rose smirks.

"You don't look like a ghost. Aren't you supposed to be see through and float around?" I ask, trying to regain my composure.

"Nope." Is all she says.

"Are you going to kill me? Don't ghosts like to go around, perpetually pissed off and getting revenge?" I ask.

"I'm not going to kill you. Most of us here won't." She says cryptically.

I frown, but decide to leave if there for now. Something tells me about the way she answered me that she wasn't in the mood to elaborate. And I wasn't about to get on Barbie Ghost's bad side.

"Well, tell this Edward guy to stop peeping on me or whatever he was doing." I mumble, folding my arms across my chest.

"You're taking this remarkably well." Rose points out.

"I adapt well." I say quietly.

"I'm assuming your name is Isabella, from the amount of times that woman has screeched it." She says, shuddering a little at the part about Renee.

I can't help but chuckle a little. "Yes it is, but I prefer Bella."

Rose hums and pushes off the door, her long, jean clad legs slowly moving to make a circle around me.

"You're not happy." She says softly once she comes to a stop beside me.

"Are you a ghost or a shrink?" I snap at her.

"And you don't like people knowing that you're not happy." She muses to herself.

"You can get out of my bathroom, now." I growl.

"Second floor, third door on the right." She says softly in my ear, then she's gone.

I frown, still trying to process what the fuck just happened.

Did I just have a conversation with a ghost…?

Holy shit. Holy… shit. _Now _I was freaking out. There was just some blonde dead girl in my bathroom. Whom I had a somewhat calm conversation with.

I leaned against the sink and tried not to panic.

And what was with the second floor? Was she trying to lure me there so she and her ghost buddies could kill me or something?

When I calmed down a little, I continued on with my morning routine, trying not to think about Rose.

After I got out of the shower and making sure there were no pervy ghosts around to see me wet and naked, I went back to my room to get dressed in a simple pair of shorts and my Hogwarts Ravenclaw t-shirt that Renee hates. She was one of those moms that wanted Harry Potter band because of it's 'witchcraft'.

Throwing on my black chucks, I run downstairs.

Trying to find my way through the house was a little difficult and it would take some getting use to, but I found Renee in the kitchen, sitting at the island, sipping her cup of herbal tea.

"Finally." She sighs when she spots me, rubbing her forehead. "I need to go out to get a few more things for the house. Would you like to come with me or stay here and finish unpacking the living room?"

Pssh… Let me see; run around this town with crazy Renee while she shops for antiques or whatever, or stay here and enjoy a quiet day to myself?

"I'll finish unpacking." I tell her.

"I'll be back in a few hours, I've left money if you want to order something for lunch." She says, putting her empty cup in the sink.

"'Kay." I mutter.

She walks out of the kitchen without another word and I'm finally left alone in peace. Well… how much peace can one get in a house with at least two ghosts?

A shudder ran through me at that thought.

What other things were lurking around the next corner I turned?

Suddenly, I almost wish I had gone with Renee. _Almost_.

That's right. I'd rather face a houseful of crazy ghosts than go shopping with my own mother.

For the next hour, I worked quietly, no music, no TV, nothing on. I wanted to be able to hear every creak that went on in this house. I had no desire to be surprised by a ghost.

Once I was finished unpacking the living room and putting every little knick knack in the spots I knew Renee would want them in, I went out and passed by the stairs.

I couldn't help but think about what Rose said to me before she disappeared.

_Second floor… third door on the right. _

What did she want me to do up there? Who or what could be waiting up there for me? Did I really want to go see?

I knew the answer to the last question almost immediately.

_Yes_.

Mostly, it was just my morbid curiosity kicking into high gear.

So, I climbed the stairs, taking them one at a time, until I reached the second floor landing. I counted the doors as I walked down the hallway, occasionally glancing around to make sure I wasn't being watched.

When I reached the third door, I froze before my hand could even touch the knob.

This is stupid… there's probably nothing in there… just an empty room…

My fingers wrapped around the door knob and gently opened it, letting it swing open part of the way.

"Hello?" I call out softly.

The room is mostly empty, just a couple boxes on the floor and vintage looking loveseat that clearly isn't ours. Renee would never be caught dead with something like that in her house. She probably hadn't even been in this room yet to see it. I would have heard her screaming at the movers to throw it in the trash.

I thought it was kinda cool looking, but my tastes were the complete opposite of Renee's, for which I was grateful.

"Hello? Rose?" I call out again, wondering if she was hiding on me.

"She's not here."

I froze as the voice washes over me. When I turn around to see who's there, I'm met with the same pair of bright green eyes that were staring back at me in the mirror last night.

I gasp and start backing away from him in a panic. A strange look passes across his face and he takes a few steps toward me.

"No! I won't hurt you! I'm sorry I scared you last night!" Mr. Ghost apologizes.

"You're that pervy ghost that was watching me in my bathroom!" I yell out as soon as I can find my voice.

He visibly winces and has the grace to look sheepish.

"I'm sorry." He mumbles. "I didn't mean to. I didn't see anything, if that's what you're worried about. I just came in when you started brushing your teeth."

"It's still wrong! Did you not learn manners before you became a ghost?" I snap.

While Mr. Green Eye Ghost looks ashamed, I take a moment to give him a once over.

Like Rose, he's very good looking, although a little on the pale side. I'm surprised at how gorgeous, male or female, these ghosts seem to be. This ghost is tall, well over six feet, with a mess of copper-brown hair, of course his eyes are green, a jaw line that I'm sure could be put to use cutting some diamonds, and the overall face of an angel. He looked well built under his clothes and I couldn't believe I was checking out a ghost.

He's still staring at the floor when I snap out it. I realize a little late that I might have hit a sore spot with the whole 'before you became a ghost' thing. Sometimes I have no tact. Shit just flies out of my mouth.

"Look, I'm sorry if I offended you with the ghost/dead comment a minute ago, but you really can't be sneaking around my bathroom." I say.

He nods and looks around the room, at everything but me, so I try another approach.

"Your name is Edward, right?" I ask him.

"How do you know my name?" He asks softly.

"Rose told me. She also told me that you were sulking in here." I tell him.

"Great… Rose doesn't know how to keep things to herself." Edward mumbles grumpily.

I broke out into a smile at his words.

_Oh my god… I'm smiling at a ghost. _

"What's your name?" He asks.

"Bella." I say before I can contemplate the consequences of telling a possibly dangerous ghost my name.

"Bella… that's a nice name." Edward says, more to himself than me.

"So…you're a ghost, huh? That must be… interesting." I try to make conversation, but I think I'm failing.

He chuckles and shakes his head absently.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be." He says simply.

_Hmmm… _

"Are you afraid of me?" Edward asks suddenly.

"Honestly? Yeah, a little. I mean, it's not everyday a girl moves into a new house and meets a bunch of ghosts." I say nervously.

"Please don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." He pled.

"I… I don't know." I mutter, confused as all hell.

Edward takes a step toward me and I automatically step back. His face falls and for a moment he looks like a sad puppy and I immediately feel like shit.

"I'll go then." He says softly and turns to leave.

"Wait!" I yell. Edward stops, but doesn't turn around. "You shouldn't have to leave. You were here first, I'll go."

Edward moves out of my way, giving me a wide berth to the door.

"Will you… will you come back?" He asks tentatively.

"I'll come back tonight, after dinner. Okay?" I ask before I have time to think.

Edward smiles and I find myself doing the same.

"Okay." He says.

"Bye Edward." I say quietly.

"Goodbye Bella."

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**Did you like Edward? There is a lot to Edward, many layers to peel back. I'll get to those soon enough. What about Rose? Yes, I made her nice Rosalie. I love nice, yet sassy Rosalie.**

**You can find me on Facebook under Malin Halibell.**

**Hit that little button down there and tell me what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I want to thank all of you for reviewing, I do try to respond to most of them, but incase I miss yours, just know that I read them all and love them.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Twilight! Or American Horror Story. **

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**BPOV**

The rest of my afternoon is spent lost in thought. Wondering about Edward and Rose, and any other potential ghosts. Would they all be as nice as Edward and Rose? Why were they here? Why didn't they 'move on' or something? What was their story? When did they die? How long had they been here?

There were just so many questions I couldn't wait to have answered.

And I had no idea how to ask any of them without coming across as offensive or cold.

_Oh yeah, sorry that you're dead and everything, but can you tell me how you died? I'm curious. _

Not gonna happen.

Renee came home with a few odds and ends that she wanted me to help her with, so that took up a good hour. I was surprised to find myself eager to go back up to see Edward. I couldn't keep my eyes off the clock, watching as the minutes and hours slowly passed by.

I was sitting on the couch, debating if I should just cave and go find Edward when the obnoxiously loud doorbell rang through the house.

Deciding to make myself somewhat useful, I got up and went to answer it. Swinging the door open, I couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at the lady standing in front of me.

She was an older woman, maybe in her late fifties, early sixties, with surprisingly red hair. She was dressed in a maids uniform, standing very professionally before me.

"Hello Miss, is the lady of the house here?" She asks politely.

I'm a little taken aback at her use of the term 'lady of the house', but pull myself together enough to smile and be halfway polite.

"Uh yes… I suppose that would be my mother. You are…?" I trail off.

"My name is Siobhan, I've been the housekeeper here for quite some time. I was hoping to talk to the lady of the house." She says curtly.

I nod and step back so she can come in.

"I'll go get my mother." I say to her and run off in search of Renee.

I find her in the study room that she's turned into her art room. Renee's a painter, not a very good one at that. I think she uses it more as an excuse to get away from me and Charlie. Well… I guess it's just me now.

"Mother, there's a woman here that says she was the housekeeper here before we bought the place and she wants to talk to you." I tell her.

"Housekeeper?" Renee turns on her heel to look at me.

This is what she's been waiting for her whole life. She's always wanted a maid or a housekeeper, but Charlie said it was ridiculous to have to pay someone for what you could do yourself.

"Yes, a housekeeper." I reiterate.

Before I can blink Renee is running past me like there is a Vera Wang wedding dress sale going on.

I take my time walking back to the entryway and when I get there Renee is all smiles, agreeing to keep the housekeeper on.

I wasn't sure what to think of her. She was polite and all smiles, but there was something that felt off about her.

Renee told her she could wait until tomorrow to start, but Siobhan insisted that she could start working today.

Lounging around the living room and picking up a book to read, I ignored everything and everyone until a little after five, when Renee finally decided it was time for dinner.

Siobhan cooked the skinless chicken Renee wanted and just for something to do, I helped, throwing together a salad. I made faces at the skinless chicken. I hated that crap. Sue me, I like some crunchy goodness. Who cares if it's not the most healthiest thing.

When I finished with the salad and turned to carry it to the dining room, I nearly dropped it when I spotted Rose standing in the doorway.

"Holy shit!" I gasp.

"Isabella Marie Swan! Watch your mouth!" Renee yells at me.

I frown for a moment because half the shit that flies out of my mouth came out of hers first. Then I scramble out of the room and make Rose follow me out.

"What are you doing in here?" I whisper yell at her.

"Well, there's nothing better to do around here. It's fun to watch you and your mother bickering." She giggles.

"You can't just pop up in front of Renee, she's going to wonder who the strange girl in our house is." I hiss.

"She can't see me." Rose quips.

"Excuse me?" It was going to take a while to get used to these ghost things.

"I can control who can see me and who can't. We all can. It comes with being a ghost." She explains.

"Huh… freaky… but cool." I say, thinking about all the fun you could have with something like that.

"It comes in handy." She shrugs. "But I'd be careful if I were you. She might not be able to see me, but she can still see you and she's going to think you're crazy when she sees you talking to yourself."

I shut up after that and work silently around Rose to set out the plates and silverware.

"Can I sit at the table with you?" Rose asks suddenly.

I notice her staring at the table longingly and I take pity on her.

"Yeah, but don't do anything weird." I warn.

"Deal." She smirks and sits down in the chair opposite mine.

Renee comes in and sits down at the head of the table, only a seat away from Rose. I have to fight to keep the grin off my face, knowing that she's sitting inches away from a ghost, it would probably scare her to death.

"I enrolled you in the local high school. Your first day will be tomorrow." Renee says.

I roll my eyes a little at her. Should have know I wouldn't get more than a day or two off of school.

"Great. So, am I supposed to ride the bus or will you be driving me, mommy dearest?" I ask.

Back home, I just rode with Jake to and from school, so I didn't have a car like a lot of other kids my age.

"No." She gives me a sharp warning look. "Actually, if you would have kept your smart mouth closed a little longer, you would have known that me and your… father… have gotten you a car." She spits out the word _father_.

Wait… a car? They actually got me a car? Holy shit. Maybe hell has frozen over.

"What kind of car?" I can't resist asking.

"A Volvo." She answers.

I hold in a groan. I'm not completely ungrateful. I'm so fucking happy they finally got me a car, but a Volvo? Could she have gotten me anymore of an old man car?

"That's… awesome." I grit out.

"A Volvo? Should I get you a collection of grandpa cardigans for Christmas to go along with it?" Rose asks from across the table, smirking widely.

I giggle a little and Renee gives me an odd look.

"I'll have to take you the first day because your car won't be ready until tomorrow afternoon." Renee continues on.

"What are you doing down here?" A booming voice exclaims behind me. I jump and let out a scream, making Renee drop her fork.

I'm going to assume this man is another ghost, because Renee hasn't said a damn thing about the half man, half bear that just walked into our dining room.

"Isabella, what is wrong with you?" Renee asks.

"Relax Emmett, I'm just having dinner with Bella." Rose says to the new ghost.

"Ummmm… I don't feel good. Can I go up to my room?" I ask Renee, but don't stop to wait for an answer.

I run out of the dinning room and don't stop until I'm safely in my room with the door locked.

_Holy motherfucking hell!_

Rose and Edward are one thing, but I draw a line when random ghosts start popping up at dinnertime, scaring the shit out of me and making Renee think I'm having a fit.

"I'm sorry." The same deep voice suddenly appears. I scream and take several steps back, but trip over my rug, making me fall on my ass.

"Get out! Get out!" I yell out, scrambling across the floor. My back hits my bed and I curl my legs up against my chest and bury my face in my knees.

"Emmett leave, now! You're just scaring her!" A voice I recognize as Edward shouts, then I feel cool hands wrap around my arms gently.

I jerked away from the touch, but he wasn't letting me go.

"It's okay Bella, he's gone. You're fine, no one's going to hurt you." Edward croons in my ear.

I take in a few deep breaths and calmed down enough to realize my reaction may have been a little over the top.

_Hah! Yeah right. A huge ghost pops into dinner and then follows me up to my room. And may I just say again… a _ghost_! That right there gives me enough reason to flip out. _

"I'm sorry." I whimper.

"Don't be sorry. You had a right to be afraid." Edward says. "Emmett just doesn't understand boundaries. He may look scary, but he's just like a big, sarcastic teddy bear."

I nod and move to get up off the floor, Edward helping me stand on slightly shaky legs.

"This whole ghost thing is really fucking weird." I mumble.

"Do you want me to go?" He asks, sounding like a child being reprimanded.

"No…" I say softly, surprising myself and him.

A knock on my door makes me jump and Edward frowns.

"What is it?" I ask him.

"It's Emmett." He answers. "He wants to apologize to you."

"Oh… I… Sure." I mumble.

Edward walks over to the door to open it and there stands the large ghost/man. He had to be almost seven feet tall, I swear to God. And one of his arms was as big around as my waist. But as my eyes reached his face, I was reminded of a sad puppy. His head was tilted to the right, looking down at me with sad eyes and had a pout on his face. His black hair was in curls, giving him an almost cherubic look.

"Can I come in?" He asks softly.

I nod, pulling over one of my pillows into my lap like it was going to protect me, and watch as he takes a few steps into my room.

"I'm sorry I scared you." He starts off. "I forget sometimes that not everyone is used to me. I've been here for a while and everyone else here knows how I am. I won't come in here again."

Emmett, I think Edward said his name was, looks like I just broke his favorite toy as he apologizes. I bite my lip, torn.

On one hand, he scared that crap out of me, just poofed into my room with no warning at all, and clearly has volume and boundary issues. On the other hand, I can tell he genuinely means that he didn't want to scare me and I just wanna go over and hug him and tell him it's alright.

"Look… It's just that… fuck." I sigh, exasperated. "Okay fine, I'll just say it. You're a ghost. I'm not a ghost. I get a little freaked out when a ghost pops up in the middle of dinner and scares me, then follows me up to my room. I'm kinda freaked out about the whole _ghost _part, period, and I'm really wondering if I should call Ghost Adventures or Ghost Hunters."

"No..." Edward whispers heartbreakingly. "You can't tell anyone about us. You can't get rid of us."

"Why not?" I ask, watching them both warily. I sensed a change in the room, and it wasn't good for me.

"You just can't!" Edward suddenly shouts, taking a step toward me.

"Fine, I won't tell anyone!" I cry out, backing further away from them. This time it's not Emmett I'm afraid of.

"Don't even tell your mother!" He keeps yelling, coming toward me. "No one can know about us, if you try to tell anyone I'll-"

"Touch her and I will throw you down in the basement." I hear Rose growl, interrupting Edward's threat.

By now, I'm pressed against the wall, holding the pillow to my chest and cringing away from him.

_I do not want to find out if a ghost is capable of killing me or not. _

Edward's eyes seem to come back into focus and he looks at me in horror.

"No…" He whispers again, this time for a totally different reason.

"Go away, both of you. And don't come back in." Rose tells them and I watch as they just vanish, like they were never there in the first place.

"What was that about?" I ask softly, half afraid she'll start in on me, too.

She sighed and sat down on the bed next to me.

"Edward is a little… _sensitive _about certain things. He gets defensive about people knowing all of us are here." She explains.

"I didn't mean it. I was just joking around. Surprised he even knew what I was talking about." I mumble.

Rose laughs and smacks me playfully on the leg. "What? You think that just because we're ghosts we're not up on pop culture? We've had many people live here and we've watched them bring in TVs and computers and all the other good stuff. I just love that show 'American Idol'."

I stare at her wordlessly, trying to get the image of a creepy ghost from those horror movies standing behind you as you sit on the couch watching TV, and then they come up behind you and kill you. Yeah… I'm not sleeping well tonight.

"Edward won't actually hurt you." Rose continues on. "He may yell, but he'd never do anything to you."

"Do you think it's safe to go find him later?" I ask quietly.

"I'd give him a little while, but yes. Maybe in an hour or so." She says.

"Can I be alone for a while?" I ask, looking over at her.

"Of course!" Rose says, getting up. "If you want to talk or anything, just call out my name."

I smile and nod at her and all I do is blink and she's not there anymore.

**EPOV**

"I cannot believe you!" Rosalie screeches from behind me.

"I'm sorry." I mutter.

Rose is not my main concern right now. Fixing that look of fear on Bella's face _is_.

All that's running through my mind is the image of her curled up on her bed, pressed against the wall in a vain attempt to get away from me as I scream at her like that complete asshole I am.

"You're _sorry_? Is that all you have to say for scaring that poor girl and threatening her? And what exactly were you going to say to her before I came in, huh? What were you going to do to her if she did go out and tell someone?" Rose badgered me.

I let her, I sit there and take in every word, because I deserve it.

"I wouldn't have given her the chance." I say softly.

"Push her down the stairs?" Rose hisses in my ear, making me flinch at the mental image it brings forth.

I already knew what that would look like… All I had to do was replace golden hair for dark brown.

"I didn't mean for that to happen to you." I say to her for the thousandth time.

"You don't mean for a lot of things to happen Edward, but they do." She says, her voice full of sorrow and malice.

I flinch from it and rub my eyes, trying to get the memory of Rosalie tumbling down the stairs out of my head.

"And I swear to God if you let that girl get hurt like you let me get hurt, there will be no place for you to hide in this house, Edward Cullen." Rose growls, then she's gone, probably off to find Emmett.

_Fuck! _

I sit forward and bury my face in my hands, trying to think of a way to make things better with Bella. I wasn't very good with these kinds of things. I didn't have any people skills… Being a one hundred year old ghost tends to do that to a person.

The only kind of human interaction I've had has been mostly with the other ghosts around the house, with the occasional person that happened to be living here at the time.

"Explain things to her." Alice says, making me jump. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I hadn't realized she was there.

"What?" I ask.

"If you explain who you are, how you got to be a ghost… about the house… she won't be so scared of you." She explains.

"How can you be sure? Won't she just run away after I tell her everything?" I ask sullenly.

"I don't think so. She's different. Just sit down and talk to her calmly, without yelling." Alice says pointedly.

"I wouldn't have hurt her." I say, feeling the need to defend myself.

"I know, Edward… I know. But Bella doesn't." She whispers.

"Okay, I will talk to her, if she'll let me."

* * *

***sits here nervously while chewing a hole through my lip***

**What do you think of Edward's mini-breakdown? And what the hell is up with Rosalie? Did Edward really kill her? **

**You can find me on Facebook under Malin Halibell. Friend me if you want.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Twilight. **

* * *

**BPOV**

I took Roses' advice and waited a while before seeking Edward out. It was a good hour and a half before I closed the book I had been reading and turned off my ipod, ready to go look for him.

I had a good idea about where he was, he seemed to like hanging out in one of the bedrooms on the second floor, so I started there.

Knocking on the door, I called out his name. When I didn't get an answer, I frowned and opened the door.

No one was there.

So I decided to try another method.

"Edward?" I call out. Rose had told me to just call out her name when I wanted to see her, maybe it was the same with Edward.

"Edward? Are you there?" I try again.

"I'm here." His voice says softly.

I swivel around to see him standing a few feet away from me, clearly giving me space, which I was thankful for.

"Oh… hi." I don't know what to say to him now.

"Hello." Edward says curtly.

"Can we talk?" I ask.

"Of course. I also have some things to tell you." He says cryptically. "Where do you want to go to talk?"

My bedroom was off limits. It was still too early to go downstairs in the living room, Renee would probably still be down there wandering around.

"Ummm… I guess we can just stay here." I say, looking around the room.

"Are you sure?" He asks. I nod and move to sit down in an old chair.

"So…" I trail off awkwardly.

"Ladies first." Edward says, smiling a little as he takes a seat on the floor in front of me.

"Why did you go off earlier? I mean, I was just kidding about getting someone in here to check the place out. They probably wouldn't believe me in the first place." I shrug.

"I'm so sorry about that. It's just that, I don't want people coming here, finding out about us." He says softly, sadly.

"Why not?" I ask almost desperately.

"I'm going to tell you about the house… about me. Maybe then you'll understand things more." Edward says.

I nod, encouraging him to continue but not wanting to interrupt him by speaking.

"This house was built in 1895 by my parents; Carlisle and Esme Cullen." He starts. I have to hold in my gasp after realizing how far back Edward just dated himself. "My father was a well known doctor, the best in his field. So when they married, he could afford to get my mother her dream home. He had this house built from the ground up, just for her."

I saw him smile a little as he remembered his parents. It was obvious he had loved them, I wish I had that kind of love with my own parents.

"A few years later in 1898, my parents had their first child; my older brother Marcus." Edward continues. I raise an eyebrow, because Rose never mentioned Edward had a brother. "And then in 1901, I was born. We were happy for a very long time, my father worked at the local hospital and my mother stayed home with me and Marcus. My brother and I… we were very close when we were young, but as we got older, we grew apart. It wasn't until I was sixteen that things went bad."

Edward's tone suddenly turned dark and he wouldn't look at me anymore.

"My mother became severely ill and it took it's toll on my father. He left the hospital so he could stay home all day and take care of my mother in her sickness. He became obsessed with finding a cure, setting up some laboratory in the basement so he could attempt to make a cure himself. But everything he made never worked for her. When I was seventeen, I truly started noticing just how bad he was. Carlisle had gone practically insane, spending all his time in the basement. There were times when he didn't come out for days. Marcus had to take food down and force him to eat."

I was completely enraptured by the story, so when Edward paused, I was a little startled to see I was leaning forward so far that I was about to fall of the chair.

"Would you like me to go on?" Edward asks me. "The rest isn't pretty."

"Keep going, please." I pled.

"I was eighteen years old when I died…" He says sadly. "After nearly three years, Esme had finally succumbed to her sickness, dying in her sleep. Carlisle snapped, destroying the house in his rage. I killed him. I killed my own father. I tried to stop him without hurting him, but it just wasn't a possibility. When Marcus saw what I'd done, we fought horribly. It's ironic actually… He hated me for killing our father, yet in the end, he killed me." Edward laughed humorlessly.

"Your brother killed you?" I ask, appalled and yet totally fascinated by the Shakespearian feel of the whole thing.

"Yes." Edward confirmed. "He killed me then killed himself. He said he couldn't handle the grief of what he'd done, so he just decided to end it there."

"Wait… He_ said_?" I ask, confused.

_That's not possible. Unless…_

"My brother is a ghost in this house as well." Edward says. "We talk from time to time, simply out of boredom or loneliness, but we tend to stay away from each other. It's difficult to become friends with the person who killed me, the man who locked me in this purgatory. And it's hard for him to get over me killing our father."

"He's in the house… right now?" I ask, glancing around, paranoid.

Edward chuckles a little at my expression, but I don't find it funny at all. I just found out that Edward's murdering brother is a ghost in my house, and possibly his insane father.

"Don't worry, Marcus won't hurt you. He rarely even appears to the people living in the house. And to answer your unasked question; yes, Carlisle is a ghost in the house as well." He says with a sigh.

"Exactly how many ghosts are there?" I question.

"Quite a few. I'm not going to tell you about everyone, though. The ghosts here will come to you if they want you to know about them." He says.

"Well I'd kind of like to know! I want to know which ones are safe to be around and which ones are going to murder me when I'm not looking!" I nearly yell, panicking.

Edward reaches over to lightly brush his fingers along my cheek. His touch his cool, but I find myself leaning into it.

"I won't let them hurt you, Bella." He whispers to me.

I blush and look away from him.

_Remember… you do have a boyfriend. Yeah, but he's thousands of miles away… _

"I won't tell anyone." I try to change the subject. "But I have a couple stipulations."

"What are they?" He asks, reluctantly pulling his hand away from my face.

"I want my privacy." I insist. "Which means that my room and my bathroom are off limits unless I say you can come in. That goes for everyone, so pass around the memo or whatever."

"Of course. I'll tell Rose and Emmett and they can tell the others." He agrees.

"Second, if one of you is around, please make yourself known. I don't want to be spied on while I'm doing something embarrassing. And third, I suggest that you leave my mom alone. I'm much more accepting of all this than she'll be." I say, imaging Emmett popping up in her bathroom while she's taking a bath or something.

God… she'd run out of the house in her towel and go straight to the police station.

"Is that all?" Edward asks, seeming amused.

"Yes." I say simply.

"Okay. I have a few stipulations of my own." He smiles. "I get to see you everyday."

I agree to this, because honestly, I don't mind the idea of seeing and talking to Edward on a daily basis.

"Second, I want you to stay out of the basement." Edward says seriously.

"The basement? Why?" I ask.

"Just… don't go down there. Trust me?" Edward pleads.

"Alright." I mumble. Now I'm intrigued as to why he wouldn't want me to go down there.

_What's in the basement? _

"Those are the only things I ask of you." He says.

"I'm sure I can live with those." I tease.

After that, we fall into a somewhat awkward silence. Just as I'm about to say something, there's a knock at the door. Which is odd, because it can't be Renee, she doesn't know I'm in here.

"Edward, can I come in and meet Bella, now?" I tinkling female voice calls through the door.

_Another ghost… Oh lord. _

Edward turns to look at me with a sorry expression.

"It's okay." I assure him.

"Come on in, Alice!" He calls toward the door.

It opens up to reveal a small girl in a frilly green dress, her hair cut short, falling just to her chin that sticks out in certain places.

"Hi, Bella. My name is Alice." She smiles brightly and practically skips over to me.

I'm a little taken aback by her. I didn't expect a ghost to be so… _chipper_.

"Hello…" I trail off awkwardly, because as soon as the word is out of my mouth, her arms are around me, hugging me tightly.

"Alice." Edward hisses at her.

"Oh what? I'm just hugging her." She complains, but pulls away from me anyway.

Alice, like the others, is paler than what's normal and cool to the touch. Her blue eyes are big for her face, making her look like a hyper puppy.

"It's so nice to finally meet you! Edward wanted me to wait a while because he thinks I'm too much, sometimes. I was starting to get upset that Rose and Emmett got to meet you first!" She babbles on at a hundred miles per second.

_Can ghosts overload on caffeine? _

"It's nice to meet you, too." Is all I can say.

Alice frowns and tilts her head to the side.

"I told you that you'd be too much." Edward mutters under his breath.

"No! It's not that!" I rush to explain, giving Edward a dirty look. "It's just, I'm not much of a… upbeat person, and I'm still not used to the whole ghost thing quite yet."

"Oh!" She exclaims. "Sorry, I forgot."

"It's okay." I say.

"Your mother is looking for you." Alice says suddenly.

"How can you tell?" I ask.

"We can feel who's in the house and where they are. That's why it's so easy to find you." She explains.

_Great. It's easy for them to stalk me. _

"Well then I better go see what she wants." I mumble, standing up.

Alice disappears suddenly, leaving me to say goodbye to Edward.

"Bella, can I come by later before you go to bed?" He asks gently.

"Sure." I whisper.

"I'll knock first." He smirks.

"You better. Wouldn't want you to walk in on me naked or anything." I say, winking at him.

Edward makes this choking sound and I snicker. Leaving on that note, I make my way down the stairs to see what Renee wants.

"You called, mother dearest?" I say as soon as I see her coming down the hallway.

"What was that down at dinner?" She demands, hands on her hips.

I shrug my shoulders as I try to come up with an excuse. "I didn't feel good. I thought I was about to throw up."

Renee makes a look of disgust and waves me off. "Fine. Just make sure to get to sleep at a decent hour. Remember that you start school tomorrow."

I have a ghost soap opera going on in this house and Renee wants me to get to sleep.

Not likely.

"Oh, your Aunt Charlotte called. She's coming by for dinner tomorrow night, so try to be over your… sickness… by then." She tells me then walks off without another word.

Dinner with Aunt Charlotte? Yes please.

I glanced at the grandfather clock in the entryway and saw it was only eight o'clock. I had at least two or three more hours before I should try to get some sleep.

What to do… what to do…?

_You know, you do have a whole bunch of personal playmates upstairs. _

I growled at myself.

They're not _playmates_. That's a mean thing to call them. Every single one of them are human beings. Maybe… sort of… They used to be humans.

I have no reason to stay downstairs with Renee, so I head back up to my room, debating if I should call out for Rose or Edward.

As I get to the hallway leading to my room, I suddenly feel a light tug on my hair and I twirl around, expecting to see maybe Alice or someone else.

No one was there.

My skin erupts in goose bumps and I walk a little faster to my room, knowing that it wasn't someone I'd already met.

Firmly shutting my door, I lean my forehead against it for a moment, taking deep breaths.

_Calm down Bella… It's nothing that can hurt you… _

"You can't run from me." I hear a chilling male voice say.

I freeze against the door, weighing his words in my mind. He's right, I can't run, not from ghosts. Though I'm not about to stay here and let this weirdo ghost kill me or something.

"Leave." I try to say strongly.

"That doesn't work with me." The voice says, closer this time.

Suddenly arms are shoot out on either side of me, caging me in against the door. I twirl around and come face to face with a pale man. Pitch black hair swirls around his face, but it's his eyes that draw me in. They're Edward's eyes. The bright green that had been so kind and sad, were now staring back at me angrily.

"I've heard that my brother has already introduced me. My name is Marcus." He says coolly… calmly.

"Well, it's _not _nice to meet you. Now leave." I say.

"You know, Edward's never been taken with any of the women that come into the house." Marcus completely ignores me, even leaning in closer. "But he can't seem to get enough of you."

I watch carefully as he looks me up and down with a somewhat longing expression on his face.

This is Edward's brother… but… he's so different. They have the same bright green eyes, but where Edward's have a lighter, gentler feel to them, Marcus's eyes are harsh and calculating. They share the same sharp jaw, but Marcus' is clenched tightly while he glares at me.

"Go away." I say more forcefully than I thought I was capable of.

Marcus seemed to flinch at my words and I thought that he'd finally leave, but then he becomes angry and I realize I said the wrong thing.

"You don't want my brother to go away. Or that pushy little blonde. What's wrong with me?" He asks scathingly.

"Maybe it's because they're nice." I hiss at him before I can stop myself.

Suddenly, his face falls at my words and for a moment I can see more of Edward in him.

"I tried being nice once." Marcus says softly. "You know where that got me? Dead. I'm stuck in this God forsaken house for the rest of eternity."

He leans forward, almost making our noses touch and he breathes over my face. I'm surprised that his breath is minty, the odd thought pops into my head that ghosts still use toothbrushes.

"Another thing, pretty little girl." He continues, his voice still satiny soft. "You're afraid of the wrong brother."

* * *

**Yeah, I ended it there. Let the tomato throwing commence.**

**We learned a lot about Edward in this chapter, what do you think? Those of you who've seen American Horror Story might notice that I loosely based Carlisle and Esme off of Charles and Nora. Without the whole mutant baby thing. Yeah, that didn't fit in here. But who knows what the hell Carlisle was doing down in that basement...**

**And what do you think of Marcus? Yes? No? Love triangle? Maybe. Just for some visual aid, I have Ben Barnes as Marcus. *queue whore moan***

**You can find me on Facebook under Malin Halibell. Links for everything are on my profile page. **

**I love reviews as much as being in the middle of a Robert Pattinson and Ben Barnes sandwich…**


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter jumps around a little bit, but it's still pretty easy to follow. I have everything clearly marked.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Twilight or American Horror Story!**

* * *

**BPOV**

"What do you mean?" My voice trembled.

"You have no idea what my dear little brother is capable of." Marcus whispers.

"Sorry, but I'm a bit more inclined to trust the guy who _doesn't _have me pinned against the door and being all creepy." I hiss out.

He surprisingly pushes away from the door and me, putting a good foot of space between us. I felt like I was able to breathe again, away from his nearly suffocating presence. He keeps staring at me though, his face tilting a little to the right as he narrows his eyes, examining my face for something.

"What are you looking at?" I snap bravely, fully aware that this ghost could probably kill me in under ten seconds.

"You are… odd." Marcus says slowly, though his voice is still cool.

"Excuse me?" I ask, actually feeling a little offended.

"You're not like all the others." He says. "They would run away screaming into the night at the sight of any one of us. But you, you actually stand up to me… you talk to Edward and Rosalie."

"Sorry to disappoint you." I say, full of snark.

"Oh little girl, you are not even _close _to being disappointing." Marcus smirks.

I open my mouth to say some smart ass remark, but he's suddenly gone from in front of me. My eyes scan the room carefully, making sure he's not fucking with me, but he's really gone.

I immediately ran to my bed, getting under the covers like some child afraid of the monster under their bed.

"Edward!" I call out, squeezing one eye shut, afraid of who might come instead.

"What's wrong Bella?" His voice smoothes over me.

"Could you be so kind as to tell your brother not to violate me." I huff.

"What?" Edward sounds incredibly surprised. "Marcus? You saw him?"

"Saw him? Oh yeah, I saw him when he popped into my room and had me pinned against the door." I say.

Edward is suddenly kneeling in front of me, looking me directly in the eyes.

"Did he hurt you?" He asks, looking me in the eyes intently.

"He didn't hurt me, but he said some really weird stuff." I tell him.

"Like what?" He presses.

"He said that I shouldn't trust you." I say quietly.

Edward sighs, but other than that he seems to remain calm.

"Don't… don't worry about my brother. I'll talk to him. He won't bother you again." He says, getting up from beside my bed.

I go to tell him thank you and goodnight, but I blink and he's not there anymore.

I really wish he'd stop doing that.

**EPOV**

"What did you think you were doing?" I seethe, finally finding Marcus in what would be considered the houses' office.

I was furious that he'd treated Bella like he had, pinning her against doors and probably scaring her half to death. I knew how my brother could get and it usually wasn't pretty.

"I just thought that your newest play toy should know a little about you." Marcus smirks.

"You had no right to go to her like that!" I shout.

"You mean I had no right to tell her the truth." He snaps back.

"Nothing that comes out of your mouth is truth." I growl.

"Oh? You didn't kill our father? Or poor little Blonde Barbie? She took quite a tumble down the stairs…" Marcus asks, a small smile on his face.

"I didn't mean to hurt either of them." I say quietly. "Killing our father was an accident, what you did to me was nothing of the sort."

"You could have just as easily kill me as you had father." He says, absentmindedly going through a stack of papers laying on the desk.

"That is what you tell yourself to justify my murder." I hiss.

"We've been through this before and frankly it's getting quite old." Marcus sighs and stood up. "Now, to get to the point of your visit; no, I will not leave her alone. She's… unique. I like her, she doesn't run from us like all the others have before. And she's certainly not afraid to try to put me in my place. It's cute."

"Leave her alone." I demand.

Marcus chuckles and walks over until he's standing in front of me. "What are you going to do if I don't? Kill me… again?"

He goes then, leaving me to fume by myself. Marcus had never paid any attention to the others that had lived here, was he truly interested in Bella or was this some sick game to him because I was showing interest in her?

I pick up a small lamp on the desk and throw it across the room, watching it crash against the wall. I listen carefully for Bella or her mother, afraid that one of them might have heard the crash, but neither of them came to investigate.

"Now I'm going to have to clean that up." A voice I know all too well sighs from behind me.

"Sorry." I apologize lamely to Siobhan.

"That was Mrs. Swan's lamp, she'll miss it." She says, walking around me.

I roll my eyes when I see how she looks. She's made herself appear young again, no doubt trying to call my attention to her, but it wouldn't work.

Siobhan had the odd _power_, you could say, to appear young and beautiful to men. Her wavy red hair was pulled up into a loose bun, a few strands hanging down her neck, big green eyes, pale skin, and long legs shown off by her obscenely short maid uniform. With human men, she didn't seem to have a choice, that was just how they saw her, but to ghost men, she could control it. Over time, it had become like a little game to her, seeing which one of the men here would fall into her trap first.

I knew Marcus had had a few transgressions with her and Emmett had come close while he was still human, but I never had. I couldn't look past the way I'd seen her sometimes when she wasn't trying to seduce someone - older, sometimes as on a motherly figure to some that had lived in the house.

It was just too weird.

Siobhan had come in with the next family to buy the house - Alice's family - after my family had died. She had been an Irish immigrant that came to America with her mother in the 1920's. She'd taken the job as a maid to the Brandon's after they moved here to Chicago, into the house.

Alice's mother, a rather nasty woman named Cynthia, had come home to catch her husband and Siobhan in bed together. Cynthia shot Siobhan right between the eyes, killing her instantly, and shot her husband twice in the chest. Cynthia was taken off, leaving a barely eighteen year old Alice to clean up the mess her mother created.

"Why are you fighting about that little mouse?" Siobhan asks while picking up the broken pieces.

"That's none of your concern and her name is Bella." I tell her.

"I know her name, I'm just saying that she's little and plain. I don't see the appeal." She rolls her eyes at me and cocks her hip to the side.

"You don't have to. Do me a favor and keep Marcus busy." I grumble.

"Sweetie, I'll do that all on my own, not as a favor to you." She says, smirking.

"Thank you for cleaning it up, but will you please leave me alone?" I ask as nicely as possible.

"Whatever." She sighs, finally realizing she's not getting anywhere.

Siobhan walks past me, brushing against my arm as she goes, but leaves without any other incidents.

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**BPOV**

"I've already had your records transferred, so there shouldn't be any problem." Renee says as she drives me to school.

I couldn't sleep very well after everything that happened last night, so I was late waking up in the morning and was now running late, much to Renee's annoyance.

Though, I had had some help in getting ready - I had jumped in the shower, rushing to get as clean as possible, and when I got out, clothes were laid out on my bed. A pair of my dark blue skinny jeans, my white _The Doors _v-neck, and a pair of black knee high boots.

I could tell this was Rose's doing. I said a quick thank you to a seemly empty room and got dressed, running out the door. I was surprisingly a little upset that I hadn't seen Edward before I left, but I pushed the feeling aside.

Renee pulls into the school parking lot, teenagers mulling around like ants.

"I'll be here to pick you up at 2:30." Renee says curtly after she stopped at the curb to let me out.

I don't answer her, getting out of the car as quickly as possible, anxious to get this day over with. I quickly make my way to the office, dodging other students and keeping my head down to not be noticed.

I see the usual cliques that come along with any high school; the popular kids - pretty cheerleaders and buffed up guys that play some kind of sport. Then the preppy kids in their Abercrombie and Fitch sweaters and turtlenecks and stripped polo's. The are 'stoners' grouped in a corner of the parking lot, looking way too happy and relaxed to be at school at 7:30 in the morning. Then there's the quiet, more reserved groups of only two or three kids that keep to themselves; the loners and bookworms.

I guess out of them all, I'd be one of the bookworms. I'd never had the tolerance for the overly fake popular girls that Renee thought I'd be friends with. And I couldn't stand all the football guys, they acted like they didn't have a damn brain in their head - which most of them didn't.

I had tried hanging out with people like that, hence my non-tolerance of them now. Too many bitches throwing me fake smiles while they planned shit behind my back. And too many meatheads slapping my ass as I walked down the halls.

Eventually I left that group of people behind, choosing instead to find solace in books and my own company. Renee often made fun of me, calling me a hermit.

Was it really so bad to want some damn quiet time with yourself and a good book?

My parents thought so. Even Charlie had wanted me to go out with friends more. And like any other teenager, I'd rebelled in my own way. I did as they asked, went out with people… just not the type of people they'd had in mind.

A guy at my old school - Tyler Crowley - had been a major pothead. I was sixteen at the time and curious about what the big deal was. So I bought a joint off of him… and found out. Smoking weed had brought me some peace, I had no longer cared about Renee's nagging or Charlie's exhausted sighs and grumbles, able to brush them off and escape into my own little peaceful world. And, as childish as it may seem, it felt good to know I was doing something behind their backs that they'd have a fit over.

After about a year, I had stopped doing that stuff, but now that it was going to be just me and Renee, without even Charlie between us as a buffer, I had a feeling I'd pick it back up.

_Note to self - make friends with one of the stoners._

I walk into the office and go straight for a woman at the front desk.

"Hello, I'm a new student, Isabella Swan." I say.

The woman looks up from her computer and stares at me, opened mouth for a few moments before snapping back to reality.

"Oh yes! We've been expecting you. Here is your schedule and a map of the school, if you have any questions or concerns, don't be afraid to stop by." She hands me the pieces of paper, still giving me an odd look.

I refrain from asking what her problem is, not wanting to piss off a school attendant on my first day and have her call Renee.

"Thank you." I say and hurriedly leave.

First class of the day, Trigonometry.

_Yay._

I go through my first two classes without any difficultly, getting the occasional look from students, but it's probably because I'm 'the new kid'. It's like being in a zoo and I'm the new animal that just arrived and put on grand display.

When I'm at my locker, getting my English textbooks, I hear a girl talking not too far away.

"Well what do you expect from her? She lives in the old Cullen house, she's going to be a freak."

I turn to see a blonde girl and a frizzy haired brunette standing across the hall, leaning against some lockers as they giggle at each other.

I just have to roll my eyes.

Then I realize they're talking about _me_. Why would I be a freak for moving into a house? Sure, it's got that whole Addams Family vibe to it, but come on. Unless… they know something is _off _about it.

My interest is peeked, wondering just how much they know and how they know it. My mind comes up with the two girls and a few other kids as Scooby-Doo characters, sneaking into a haunted house in the middle of the night to investigate the ghosts. It's ridiculous.

So I put on my best smile and make my way over to them.

_Time for some sucking up._

"Hi, couldn't help but over hear you… were you talking about the house I moved into?" I ask nicely, watching as the girls eyes widen.

"Uh… yes." The frizzy brunette stumbles out.

"You don't know about The Cullen House?" The blonde asks snarkily.

"Well I'm asking you, aren't I?" I ask, already having no patience for her.

"The Cullen House is haunted. Some people call it the Cursed Cullen House because everyone that moves into the house dies. Like every five to ten years, someone new moves in and they don't last another year. Their bodies are found somewhere in the house, days after they've died. It's usually not very pretty either." She says, obviously smug that she know so much about it.

"Everyone?" I scoff. Surely not everyone has died in there… I've met what, five ghosts? I'm sure that more people have lived in it over the years and not died.

"The current body count is nineteen." Blondie informs me like it's nothing.

Nineteen.

There's no way that's possible.

"But, if I go ahead and loop you in there, that brings it up to an even twenty." She continues.

I balk at her. She's standing here, basically telling me I'm going to die, and she doesn't even bat an eyelash.

The bells rings shrilly in my ears and before I can say anything else, they both walk off to their classes.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~SYHM~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

The rest of my day is dull compared to my conversation in the hallway. I eat an apple for lunch, not feeling particularly hungry since I was just told by some blonde cheerleader I was going to die.

I need to talk to Edward.

He'll tell me if blondie is telling the truth, or making up some shit to fuck with the new kid.

World History is the last class of the day, which happens to be one of my favorites. Though my eyes can't stray from the clock for long.

When the final bell rings, I shoot out of my seat, ignoring a boy who'd been trying to get my attention the whole class. Too much gel in his hair, it made it look like he was wearing a helmet. I had found myself wondering what it would be like to run my fingers through Edward's soft, wild hair.

I practically run out to the parking lot, scanning for Renee's car, but instead I spot someone so much better.

Charlotte is leaning against her cherry red Porsche, two Starbucks cups in her hands, one of which she's sipping on. Her dark brown hair, so much like mine, is pulled into a ponytail, the ends resting over her right shoulder. She's wearing a tight sweater, which is making all the guys stare a little too long.

_Why can't she be my mom?_

Charlotte and Renee had never got along, Charlotte being more like me and Renee being her uptight, snotty self. Now a days they tolerate each other for short amounts of time; a weekend here, a dinner there. Depending on how the year went, she even came for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

"Hey, Aunt Char." I greet her happily, momentarily forgetting my earlier troubles.

"Hey kid, how was your first day?" She asks, handing me the second cup of coffee.

"It could have been worse. Luckily no one really noticed me." I say, inhaling the delicious aroma.

_Mmmm… Mocha caramel, my favorite._

"No drama llama. Get in, the banshee awaits our arrival." She smirks, referring to Renee.

I smile and climb into the Porsche, ignoring the looks of jealousy from everyone. Charlotte likes to drive very fast, so we're home in record time. Though I have to pry my fingers off the door handle.

As I get out, thankful to be on solid ground once more, I spot Edward standing in one of the second floor windows. I worry that Charlotte will see him too, but I remember Rose telling me that they can control who sees them. He's looking down at me with a frown on his face and I wonder what's wrong.

"I'm going to go put my stuff up in my room." I tell Charlotte as we walk in. She simply nods and goes in search of Renee.

I head up the stairs, paying extremely close attention to every sound around me. I walk into my room and throw my things on my bed, then decide it's time for a little talk.

"Edward!" I call out.

Not five seconds later my door opens and Edward comes in.

"Who is that woman you came home with?" He asks right away.

"That's my Aunt Charlotte, why?" I tell him.

"Nothing, I was simply curious. Did you want to talk about something?" He asks.

I frown at his abruptness and he seems to notice, because his face softens, making him the Edward I'm used to.

"I'm sorry, Bella. Please don't mind me, I'm still a little worked up over my… talk… with my brother." He apologizes.

"What did Marcus say?" I ask.

"He um… well… he seems to be interested in you. I'm afraid there are going to be a few more issues with him." Edward tells me, sighing.

My face clams up, worry washing over me as I remember Marcus pushing me against the door.

_Why do I have to attract the crazy ghosts?_

"Don't worry, I won't let him do anything to hurt you." Edward leans over to cup my face in his hands.

I'm a little surprised by the movement, but I don't say anything, because I actually like Edward touching me. His fingers are cool against my cheeks, helping calm my slight panic. I lean my face to the right, pressing against his fingers a little.

"Thank you, Edward." I whisper, trying not to ruin the moment.

"You don't need to thank me, Bella. I… I want to keep you safe. I like spending time with you and talking to you, it makes me angry that my brother is trying to scare you." He tells me softly.

"I like talking to you, too." I say. "I've never really had a friend before, it's nice to have you to hang out with."

"Well that's sad." Edward frowns. "In your whole life, you've never had a friend?"

"Not a really good friend. I was friends with a couple kids at my old school, they weren't that great. I didn't care about them a lot." I tell him, finally leaning away from his cool hands. Even with Edward, it was uncomfortable to talk about my flaws.

"You won't have to worry about that anymore. I'll be your friend. And you've got Rose, and judging by her reaction to you yesterday, I'm sure Alice will be more than willing to become your friend." He laughs.

I can't help but grin, somehow extremely happy that Edward likes me enough to even be a friend.

"Bella!" I hear Charlotte yell. "Please don't leave me alone down here! Much longer and you're going to have to take your mother and I to the hospital!"

"I better get downstairs before they kill each other." I wince, imagining all the possibilities.

"Come on, I'll walk down with you." Edward gets up and takes my hand, pulling me off the bed effortlessly.

We walk hand in hand down the staircase, taking our time. You'd think it would be weird holding hands with a ghost, but it wasn't any different from holding any other guys hand. It was just a little colder.

"Oh!" I stop in mid-step. "I forgot, I had something to ask you. I heard something at school."

"Ask me later, after you have dinner." He says.

I hesitate, but nod okay. I don't have time to ask him now, so later will just have to do. Though I know it's going to bug me all night.

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"I always thought Charlie had a certain vibe about him." Charlotte snickers, stuffing a fork full of green beans into her mouth.

"Shut up!" Renee hisses at her.

"He did like to decorate a lot. The couch always had to have color coordinated throw pillows." I ignore Renee and encourage Charlotte.

Renee throws down her fork and picks up her wine glass, downing the whole thing.

"When does the divorce go through?" Charlotte asks, taking a little pity on her sister.

"Not for another month. We've filed the papers, but the system is so backed up. What the hell are my tax dollars paying for?" She mumbles rhetorically.

"Bella, how you feel about this?" Charlotte asks, a little sarcastically.

"I hate that I've been dragged across the country by my crazy, homophobic mother." I say, glaring at Renee.

"Oh for the love of Jesus." She mutters, refilling her glass.

"Well isn't this a nice little family dinner!" Charlotte gushes sarcastically, grinning at me.

My laughter is interrupted by the doorbell ringing. I glance at the grandfather clock, seeing that it's only six. Renee wanted to have an early dinner, probably to get Charlotte out as fast as possible.

"I'll get that Mrs. Swan." Siobhan says as she's walking past the dining room to get the door.

"May I be excused? I'm full." I ask, not in the mood to deal with company. Hell, I'm _never _in the mood to deal with company.

Renee waves me off and I eagerly jump up and take my plate to the kitchen. I'm rinsing it off when I hear a strange voice, it's a woman, and almost sickeningly sweet as she talks. As I continue to listen, I pinpoint a bit of a southern lilt to her voice.

"It's just so nice to have neighbors again! The last people here weren't very friendly, a gay couple, never much cared for those types of people anyway." The woman says, like she's better than everyone.

Ugh.

Another Renee to deal with.

To me, people are people, no matter that gender of the person they love. It's their personal life. But to Renee, being gay is a sin, right up there with cannibalism, incest, and skinning kittens alive.

I do not want to deal with this new lady, so I try my best to sneak past them and run up the stairs, but luck is not on my side tonight.

"Isabella! Come meet our neighbor, Maria!" Renee exclaims, clearly pleased to find someone else so much like her.

I put on a fake smile and walk over to them.

"Maria, this is my daughter, Isabella." She introduces me.

This woman is clearly quite a bit older than Renee, a few years over fifty. Her pitch black hair is pulled up into a swirl at the back of her head, her eyes are a dark brown color with a few lines around them, with bright red lipstick liberally caked on her lips.

"Hello, little darling. Aren't you just adorable." Maria gushes over me. "Such a pretty thing… I used to have a son about your age… but he died a few years ago."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Renee says.

Maria waves her hand distractedly. "It was a long time ago. You know what they say; time heals all wounds."

I don't like this woman at all, she gives me a weird feeling whenever her dark eyes pass over me.

"Make her go away." A little voice makes me jump.

I turn not so subtly to see Alice standing on the second floor landing, looking down at us.

"What?" I ask.

"Bella, make her go away. She's not a good person and she's not supposed to be here." Alice says angrily.

"Did you say something?" Charlotte asks, looking at me with a small frown.

"I… I'm sorry, I don't feel good." I say.

"You didn't feel well yesterday, either." Renee states.

"Maybe I've caught something." I tell them, hunching in on myself a little.

"Well then I better get going." Maria perks up. "I just came over to say hello and give you this gift basket." She thrusts said basket into Renee's arms. "It's got all kinds of sweets; a batch of chocolate chip cookies, a few assorted muffins and cupcakes, and I made one of my signature home made apple pies!"

At that, I go up the stairs, stopping beside Alice on the second floor and we watch Maria leave.

"Why did you want her to leave?" I ask Alice quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear me.

"That was Maria, Jasper's mother." Is all she says, her narrowed eyes glaring at the door Maria just walked out of.

* * *

**Whoa. A lot just went on in that chapter, you keeping up? Whatcha think about the whole thing with Edward and Marcus? I think they need some family therapy. This is when a character like Ben would come in handy…**

**For those of you who have watched AHS, you might recognize that I've based Maria off of Constance. Crazy southern lady with a dead son. Yeah. You should really watch the show if you haven't. I love Tate and Hayden and I don't care about the haters! That bitch is crazy and I love her.**

**You can find me on Facebook under Malin Halibell. We can talk about American Horror Story or unicorns and rainbows.**


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